Will Facebook Make Nextdoor Say, ‘There Goes the Neighborhoods?’

Is there enough room in the neighborhood for neighborhood social network Nextdoor and the new Facebook Neighborhoods feature being tested? An early test of Facebook Neighborhoods in Calgary, Alberta, was spotted last October by Calgary-based social media strategist Leon Grigg of Grigg Digital and shared by social media consultant Matt Navarra. Facebook Neighborhoods is still confined to Canada, for now, as product manager Reid Patton said in a Newsroom post that it is being tested in that country, with plans to expand to select cities in the U.S. soon. Patton said Neighborhoods is a section of the flagship Facebook mobile application, with a profile that is separate from the user’s regular Facebook profile. People must be at least 18 to join and confirm that they live in the specific Neighborhood, but they have the option of joining nearby Neighborhoods, as well. A biography, favorite places and interests can be added to Neighborhoods profiles, with that information visible via a Neighborhoods Directory. Once someone joins a Neighborhood, they can post, take part in discussions, answer questions in the dedicated fee and assume roles such as socializers to spark conversations. Neighborhoods is also tied in with Facebook groups, as Neighborhoods users can find local groups, and administrators of groups can add them to Neighborhoods to make them easier to discover. People using Neighborhoods can also join groups that are only accessible via the Neighborhoods experience. Neighborhoods includes a recommendations feature for people to offer or seek suggestions about businesses in their community, as well as polls that enable users to vote on their favorite local businesses and places. On the safety front, Neighborhoods have moderators who reviews posts and comments in the section’s feed and can hide content that violates the Neighborhoods guidelines, with that content then reviewed by Facebook’s community operations team and removed if it violates the social network’s community standards. Posts or comments can be reported to Neighborhoods moderators via Facebook’s reporting tool. People can block other people on Neighborhoods without that person knowing, just as they can on Facebook, and that person will not be able to find them in the Neighborhoods Directory. Neighborhoods is strictly opt-in, and profiles include the user’s name, profile picture, cover image and the name of their Neighborhood. Groups created in Neighborhoods can be private or open, and visible or hidden. Facebook said activity and information in Neighborhoods may be used to personalize users’ experience across its products, including ads, explaining that activity on Facebook may influence what people see in Neighborhoods, and vice versa. Patton wrote, “People have always used Facebook to connect with their neighbors—rallying to support local businesses, asking for recommendations and tips in local groups, offering support or meeting neighbors who share common interests. Throughout the pandemic and especially in the past year, we’ve seen just how crucial these connections can be. Facebook Neighborhoods makes it easier to do this, bringing the local experience across Facebook into one place.”

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Will Facebook Make Nextdoor Say, ‘There Goes the Neighborhoods?’

The social network continues testing its local feature in Canada

David Cohen

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David Cohen